Sins and Tragedies
by RinSabreDelta
Summary: The Battle of New York brought out the best in some...and the worst in others. M for violence, language
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As always, I do not own Marvel or any characters belonging to them or Disney.**

My life was great. Okay, so maybe not great, but definitely comfortable. I had a nice apartment in Queens, a couple of pretty nice jobs, and I was happy. That horned idiot and his alien buddies had ruined it. They're the reason I met _them._

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><p>Leading people out of the back door of the café, I glanced around warily. I didn't know how well any self-defense classes might work in a situation like this, and I wasn't too eager to test it. Every time a speeder-looking thing shot overhead, we'd duck behind a car or piece of rubble until we were sure it was safe. We'd almost made it out, until a shot destroyed the ground behind me and sent a couple of us flying. I groaned in pain at the throbbing in my back and head. I sat up slowly, crawling towards one of the patrons from my café. I checked on them, made sure they were alright, got them running in the right direction. Before I could make my own escape, I was back in the air, slamming into a car. I gave a cry, shattering the windows in the car and causing the alien fighter in front of me to pause. I slumped to kneel on the ground, glaring up at it. I charged suddenly, giving another deafening cry and slamming my fist into its face. It reeled, clearly surprised, before giving its own roar and coming after me. I was already regretting the decision when an object whizzed past my head, slamming into the alien's face before returning back behind me. I turned to see a main in a…well…star spangled outfit, sliding a shield onto his arm.<p>

"Are you okay, Miss?" He asked as he stepped towards me quickly. I nodded; movement behind him caught my eye. I pushed past him, giving my loudest scream directly at the alien pointing his spear-gun at us. It clutched its head as what I assume was blood flowed from the different openings in it's face, before dropping to the ground in a heap. I turned to see the spangled man giving me a scared and suspicious look. I nodded and turned to run for the perimeter. "Wait, I need to stick around!" He called after me. I simply chuckled humorlessly.

"Like hell, Captain Spangles!"

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><p>A few days later, I was back at the café, helping to clean up the damage. Granted, we weren't the worse hit, but we definitely didn't come out unscathed. So, imagine my surprise when I heard the bell above the door ring. I turned to see a slightly disheveled man step through hesitantly, looking around.<p>

"Hi there. You need something, hun?" I blink, giving a small smile. He seemed to shy away for a bit, still glancing around. He seemed to be a bit lost, so I took a step towards him and offered a hand. "C'mon. We'll get you something warm to drink and maybe some food, okay?" He shook his head.

"No, sorry, um…just came to get some coffee to go for some of us. Just haven't gotten the chance to see the damage up close, ya know?" I nodded and let him go to go get some coffee made. He seemed to think for a bit before grabbing a broom and gently beginning to sweep.

"Hey, you don't gotta do that." I gave him a look as I started the coffee. He simply shrugged and continued with his work. I had to admit, he was getting the floor cleaned up a heck of a lot faster than the bus boy had earlier that morning. "Seriously, we have somebody for that." I gave him a smile.

"After what happened, I think it would be better if everyone helped out everyone else. This city has been through hell, and there's no reason we all shouldn't be helping to clean up this mess." He sounded guilty, and I briefly wondered why. I shrugged it off and continued on the coffee as he continued to sweep. After a few moments, a few more people came in, and as each looked around and spotted the man sweeping, they began to join in. I was shocked; I'd seen men beat up in the street for just offering to help someone, and yet here we all were. I set more coffee going, serving up some mugs for the people just coming in.

"On the house, guys." A couple smiled gratefully, while the others simply continued to work. I turned to the man who'd started this weird phenomenon. "How many orders did you need, by the way?" He glanced up, and for a moment I could have sworn his eyes had flashed green. I gave a blink, looking again. No, they were definitely brown. I must have been pretty tired.

"I needed four. I've got the money to cover it." I waved off his offer.

"Like I said, on the house." I grinned, pouring out three travel cups of coffee and passing them over the counter. He smiled and nodded his thanks. "Feel free to come back anytime, Mr…?"

"Oh, um, my name is Bruce. Banner. Bruce Banner." He seemed a flustered and I chuckled. He seemed like the shy nerdy type. Maybe a comic book guy…

**A/N: Read, rate, review, and be sure to stop by my page for more fun across the fandiverses!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Please enjoy chapter two!**

The next day brought Bruce back to the café. At this point, we'd gotten all the cleaning done and were working on rebuilding. I was unpacking new equipment when he stepped up to the counter. I gave him a friendly smile.

"Sorry, all the cleaning's done. Nothing to help out with today." HE gave a small chuckle as he tapped on the counter.

"That's alright. Apparently, I shouldn't have dawdled on the coffee yesterday." He shook his head, though he kept a small smile on his face. "That's why I'm here, actually. Same order, if you don't mind. "I nodded and moved to pour the cups.

"Well, we'll try not to keep them waiting, won't we?" I gave my own chuckle, knowing how impatient people tended to be when it came to their daily fix. I handed him the cup tray with a grin. "Best get back before they come to get it themselves."

"Yeah, I really doubt they would." He shook his head and turned to go, out the door before I could say anything else. I shrugged it off, and went back to work. And so it went.

A week or so later, I was working my night shift at the when a group came in. Looking up, it took everything in my power not to drop my pen in shock. There before me was the Avengers. Every one, except the really big blonde one I'd seen on the news. I paled a bit, but straightened up and put on my best waitress smile. Tony Stark himself asked for the best seat in the house, and I led them to a slightly secluded area of the restaurant. A slightly smaller blonde man kept giving me strange looks, and I was going to confront him about it until I saw who was moving to sit next to him.

"Bruce?" He looked up in shock, and the entire party gave us strange looks. I flushed slightly under the scrutiny, and I almost missed the way the blonde man glared at me. I shook my head slightly, working to play it off. "You know, the next time you want to impress a girl, replace 'scientist' with 'superhero.' It'll work out better." That earned a chuckle from the group and I relaxed a bit. I took drink orders and turned to go, but was stopped by a hand on my wrist. I turned to see the blonde man gripping my arm.

"Excuse me, Miss, but I need to speak with you." I glanced to Bruce, who could only give me a shrug before I was being dragged away. Cries of 'Steve' and 'What are you doing?' came from the table as I was led towards the back lounge. It was quieter there, with the more 'old money' folks sitting around with their brandy. I tried to pull away, but he was strong.

"I'm sorry, sir, but can I help you with something?" He glared down at me now, and I shrank away a bit.

"You were at the Battle…" He said, his voice low. I could practically feel the threat in that, and my mind raced with what he meant. When it hit me, I stifled a gasp. Of course. This was that spangle guy I'd saved from the alien.

"Everyone was at the battle, sir. This is New York, after all." I tried to play it off smoothly like I'd been watching people do all week, but even I wasn't buying it. His grip tightened slowly, and I panicked just a bit. I was really hoping he wasn't about to try and have it out here at my job. I didn't really feel like trying to find a new one.

"No, you fought. And not in the usual way either." He gave me a knowing look, and I swallowed.

"Yeah, well, usual is an interesting word for a guy who wears blue tights to use." He looked insulted, and his grip loosened just enough for me to wrench away. He shook his head, glancing back towards where the team sat, and for the first time I saw something other than suspicion in his gaze: concern.

"Look, I just need to know if I should be worried about my team." I gave him my own insulted look.

"Of course not. Do I need to worry about my job?" We both knew it wasn't my job I was concerned with; however, he simply shook his head, relaxing a bit. "Good. In that case, maybe we should get back to your friends." I turned on my heel and strode towards the table, listening to him hurry to catch up. I gave a somewhat more strained smile to the guests, who seemed to pick up on my dour mood. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you in the capable hands of my friend Sara. I hope you enjoy your night." I headed to the kitchen without another word, not once looking back to meet the gazes I could feel on my back.

**A/N: Well? Can I have at least one review? If you don't tell me what you want, I won't be able to consider all the things you could offer!**


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